So What??

As I, along with every other theologically-minded Christian practitioner, have now sufficiently bludgeoned the "Modern" church to death, my friends have grown impatient and now ask me to explain what an acceptable church would look like. And, here is the problem: I don't know because I've never seen it. I've seen how every church has small puzzle pieces that, if we could somehow fit them all together, would result in a downright amazing church. But, puzzle pieces are hard to come by. So it seems.

I've been reflecting on this a lot over the past year. Why is it that I am so unsatisfied with all the good churches I come into contact with. I think the answer falls back on the big, difficult concepts of paradigms, worldviews, and the cliche Modern/Postmodern debate. To me these are not just fancy words and concepts that make me feel smart, they are actually the only things that sufficiently explain to me why I feel the way I do about many things, and what is going on in the world around me. Here's why:

Our age is complex. We have been born into a world that at least intellectually has said that "Modernity" is not sufficient to explain reality and experience. For around 500 years up to the 1960's the big complicated systems of science, empiricism, and philosophy dominated our world. They were assumed to fully explain everything. If they hadn't explained it yet, it was only a matter of time before they did. That is modernism in a nutshell. . . . . now, when we talk about postmodernism, what we mean is a rejection of the tyranny of modernism. To be postmodern is to reject (at least partially) what is modern. That is the simplest way to put it.

The problem is that postmodernism is not a paradigm or worldview. Postmodernism offers very little to replace what has been rejected. It just says its not good enough and leaves it at that.

So this is the world we find ourselves in. Where the most coherent worldview available has been rejected, but not replaced. It is a very chaotic set of circumstances to be living in. This is why modernism as a whole is still prevailing. It is why in plenty of regions, modern churches are growing. Many people are aware of postmodern arguments, but when no other worldview is offered they opt to stick with what has worked (though imperfectly) up till now. Notice that we still refer to our own time as "modern day". It is also apparent that we are not far removed from the values of our parents. Our society is still materialistic and individualistic, etc. just as most of the 60's children turned out to be. We still seek "spiritual experiences" like them, and as it turns out, these typically are very materialistic experessions of spirituality. The fact of the matter is no one can live without a paradigm/worldview to interpret experience, and that is the challenge and complexity of postmodernism.

Postmodernism looks at a foundation that we had thought to be impregnable concrete and finds countless cracks that eventually would bring down anything built on top of it. It sees the Titanic and proceeds to name the countless icebergs; any of which could bring it down. It does not tell us of a better foundation or a more indestructable method of ship building. It seeks only to humble the pride of an old worldview that is not so perfect and omnipotent as it once claimed itself to be.

It is this cynical side of postmodernity that I find entertaining, maybe too much so. I have grown up in the midst of churches all setting their roots in a Modern paradigm which has been called out as a fraud, even if it still has plenty of power in many regions of the world. This is the biggest problem with cynicism: it can bring a crowd to a roaring laughter at the expense of the arrogant, but when asked to offer up an alternative, it is quickly silenced. I enjoy calling out the Modern church. I think it has a lot of hubris that needs to be exposed and humbled. Yet, when asked what to replace it with . . . . . I've got a few puzzle pieces, but I'm quite short of a coherent picture.

I'll admit my bias. I strongly dislike modernity. There are aspects of it that I think are cool. Still, I feel that I grew up in what could be considered the pinnacle of a Modern upbringing, and feel very adamant that moderninty is and will continue to fail us. My denomination is one of the most Modern denominations I can imagine, and I see the mess that has led us into. I hear the many promises of modernity, and then take a sober look at our world and realize that oppression is growing in power, not freedom. Materialism is overcoming us, not spirit. Selfishness is growing louder, not love. Isolation is prevailing, not community. All these things are happening contrary to what modernity promises. Yes, diseases are being cured, and the world is getting smaller, but at what cost?? I have been surrounded by modernity my whole life, and though it is very enticing, I nonetheless cast my vote against it. I want it to lose.

The problem with church these days is that it has become so intertwined with modernity that it is hard to be postmodern and Christian at the same time. To deconstruct modernity means taking out pillars of the church. (somedays I mourn that, often I laugh . . . to be honest) I realize how that will seem to most older generations and more than a few from my own that I am against Christianity as a whole. I simply look to the Oregon and Western Europe and think about how my kids and grandkids will live in a Dallas that will most likely be more like Portland or Paris that the Christian Mecca it often resembles today. This is why I can say, I don't know what a church that satisfies me would look like, but the best place I've found to start is emphatically stating what it can't continue to look like. As for what it should . . . everyone is picking up pieces as we go along . . .

I think this is why community is so important. If we compile what we each have, who knows what God might create with it. Whether I am ever actually a part of a church plant or not, I know that my generation will have little choice but to reconstruct the church. It's not something that a professional ministry staff, university professors, or professional theologians can do for us. I like to think. And, I hope that thinking is a gift of mine that builds up the body in a fresh way. Still, I must say immediately, I have far more questions than answers, and far more cynical critique than fresh ideas. So far, that is the best response I see to the ridiculously complicated situation I have been born into.